Week 4 CSA Share!!
First week of July in the books! Fourth week of CSA in the books! I have to say I have really been enjoying doing the CSA this year. It has been a shift in labor and volume since I expanded it to have roughly four times the amount of members from last season, but it has been a real joy getting to know you new folks, seeing veteran members, and exchanging emails about life and food! I feel like it is such a positive and fulfilling way to connect with community members and to open our little project to our local world. I truly look forward to what the future holds as we continue to develop the land and our relationships here in Hyde Park - it feels good!!!
But thats not without challenges as well - some parts of our new fields are still riddled with weeds that overtake certain crops like roots: carrots, beets, turnips. Every year I enter into the season with a fierce optimism and an immensity of hope and am continually shocked when particular patterns recur due to the fact that I haven’t changed any production strategies and relied almost entirely on that hope. For instance, expecting certain areas of the farm to not have issues with weeds. As always, this work for me is about learning my limitations and this year I am up against how much land one person with part-time help can possibly cultivate (control weeds) while juggling all the other aspects of the farm. So already, I find myself looking toward next season and setting goals and strategies to improve production here. What I have learned about this work is that change is slow and over an annual timeframe - shifts in methods take so much thought and time to employ - like steering an aircraft carrier to alter the course - and since I am an incredibly impatient person, this slow-change aspect, although uncomfortable and insanely irritating at times, is a good learning process. Plus it offers more time to ignite and fuel that burning hope so necessary for this work.
On to the Share!!!!!
Week 4!!!!!!!!!!!
I love this share this week! I have to say that I am really happy with the overwintered sweet onions this year. Onions have always been a struggle for me so I am so psyched about the size and flavor of these Walla Walls sweet onions.
Walla wallas - if you can handle raw onions I would do that but roasted or caramelized would be great too.
a bag of arugula - bigger, slightly spicy, so delicious, raw or cooked. Cooking will reduce that bag to a shocking small amount of food. here is a recipe. And if you want some other ideas besides salad here it is!
a bunch of Broccolini - cooked briefly with butter/oil. Steamed with salt and pepper. Yum.
2 Cucumbers
the first of the summer squash and zucchini. More to come. I assure you.
a bunch of Basil - first of the season! These are the tops of the plants that we “pinch” off to encourage it to bush out. You could make pesto with half basil, half arugula for a zesty summer flavor!
Napa cabbage - I am super psyched about these - I haven’t grown Napa in a few years but with the proper techniques for pest protection and ample fertilizer, they have grown well! Genica and I experimented with the first heads and found that even raw, it was light and sweet. We wilted it by putting cooked sausages right on top as they were hot out of the pan - we dressed the cabbage lightly for added flavor. But here are some other ideas. I like the idea of Napa coleslaw. yum. Or if you want to make some Kim chi here is a recipe.
Thank you all for another wonderful week. Here are some sights from the farm!
the seasons winter squash, melons, pumpkins and summer squash.
Cabbage transplants going in for a partner that distributes vegetables to institutions in the Northeast, schools, hospitals, universities.
Genica kicking ass with flowers this year. Home Front Gardens!!!
Proud grower with his onions.